What are Honduran teachers’ experiences with transnational students in rural schools?

• In Event: Teachers experience and professional development in Latin America

Proposal

With the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Hondurans living in the U.S., many of whom have resided there for the past 20 years, there is an anticipated increase in return migration to Honduras, and with it, a potential rise in transnational students enrolled in Honduran schools (Agencia EFE, 2018). Many transnational students face traumatic experiences which have social, physical, and sociological consequences (Panting, 2016). As global education trends shifts from lecture-centered to student-centered, it is important that teachers’ epistemology is informed by knowledge of their students’ transnational experience (Samarji & Hooley, 2015) as a means to better re-integrate them into the classroom and serve other unique needs.
El Progreso, Honduras is a known high migrant-sending area (Centro Nacional de Información del Sector Social, 2016), and as such, the location of a pilot study regarding transnational students in rural schools. In this study, conducted at 18 schools (12 elementary, 5 elementary/middle, & 1 secondary), teachers administered a survey which asked if the students had lived or were born in the U.S., if they had any educational experience in the U.S., and if they spoke another language. Teachers pulled aside students with migration experience for additional details. Findings showed two affirmative cases of experience living or studying in the U.S., and eight additional cases of experience living in another country, including Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Spain. This demonstrated a need to focus our inquiry beyond the U.S. alone, for additional migration patterns such as South-South migration have also been shown to impact student enrollment (Davis, 2018). Teachers with affirmative cases of transnational students in their classrooms were interviewed about their experiences serving these students, as well as their overall insights from and thoughts about the survey.
From the semi-structured interviews, a few trends emerged. Out of all of the affirmative cases, only two teachers were unaware of their students’ migration experience, and many knew details about the students’ experiences or reasons for migrating. For example, one of the students lived in Belize because of their parent’s work. For others, their parents were sent away to work in another country and so their children came with them. Another teacher cited that in general, students leave because of unemployment or because of experiences with violence or gang recruitment in Honduras. In the school with five affirmative cases, the director spoke about the issue of migration in general at the school and surrounding community. In that area, many parents leave unannounced and do not take their children, potentially, prompting social or psychological trauma for the students left behind (Panting, 2016); if they do take their children, when they return often there is a delay in school enrollment.
Teachers also discovered new information from administering the surveys. One teacher learned that their student who had lived in Nicaragua spoke French. The teacher expressed that this knowledge was beneficial because the student might be able to teach the rest of the class the basics of French. Another teacher learned that her student only had one month of preparatory experience abroad, and then was enrolled in primary school once in Honduras. The teacher explained that this student was badly behaved in class, and one possible explanation for this behavior was the student’s limited schooling experience in Nicaragua, in addition to the knowledge the students’ mother punished the child at home for bad behavior. A third teacher shared that one of her students was unable to enroll in an education center while in the U.S., resulting in a considerable schooling gap that may be reflective of the student’s current performance.
In considering what support Honduran teachers in rural schools may need, the interviews revealed their varied frustrations in regards to the problem of migration and transnational students. One of the most demonstrative examples came from surveying the only secondary education center in the group of 18 schools. At this alternative education program, zero affirmative cases emerged, however the teacher commented that the question that should be asked was “how many student have thought about or plan to migrate?” When prompted, 17 of the 27 students indicated that they were considering migrating or had future plans. The school principal stressed the importance of having the students stay in Honduras and work, rather than endure the risks associated with migration. In this school, the teachers focus on addressing opportunities for students in Honduras, and emphasize needing to buy-in to possibilities for success within their country; the government has a ways to go to improve corruption and increase opportunities, but citizens also have a responsibility to stay and work to improve Honduras.
Interviewees overall indicated the usefulness of acquiring additional information about these students. Students come and leave often, leaving teachers unaware of where where they have been or gone. This could be indicative of a lack of systemic transparency but also calls attention to how a deeper understanding of students prior schooling experiences could inform instructional praxis and ensure that vulnerable students’ needs are met. Another way to support Honduran teachers would be support systems focused on lessening the delay in student re-enrollment and dropout connected to transnational experiences. As more students are impacted by Temporary Protection Status and return to Honduras, it is imperative that teachers are equipped with the tools to integrate transnational students into their classrooms and ensure that they are able to maximize their educational opportunities.
Our aim through CIES is to build on the cross-cultural knowledge of the CIES audience, learning from related studies on migrant and transnational education frameworks, especially as they connect to the Latin American region. We also hope to build upon existing multicultural classroom pedagogies, investigating how these could be blended with transnational students’ experiences in informing teacher preparation. Our future work in this region seeks to deepen our understanding of students’ educational experiences in other Central American countries, as well as future educator interviews asking what tools and resources they have found or would find helpful in working with transnational students.

Authors

• Katharine Summers, Students Helping Honduras

• Maxie Gluckman, University of California, San Diego